The Kensington Thread

[OldDutch]

Had the burger at Parc Brassarie today and it was good. It was Sous Vide as well, but I still found a bit dry. The bun was very good as was the bacon and egg I had on it. Overall very good burger.

Still think Five Guys is he best burger in town at any price point. Frick that is some delicious stuff.

Big time has me wanting to try his recipie though, sounds pretty tasty!

[J pold]

Anyone have an office in Kensington? What are your experiences like?

One of the major tenants is moving out and there is going to be a big chuck of vacancy coming up. We are trying to attract potential tenants to the area and are brainstorming what Kensington has to offer to an office user.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by J pold

Anyone have an office in Kensington? What are your experiences like?

One of the major tenants is moving out and there is going to be a big chuck of vacancy coming up. We are trying to attract potential tenants to the area and are brainstorming and what Kensington has to offer to an office user.

The lack of free parking is a problem for a business trying to attract clients.

[Bigtime]

The curse of the NE corner of Memorial Drive and 10th Street continues, The Bottlehouse tweeted this morning:

FYI BottleHouse is no longer in operation. Thank you to all of our great customers for the support over the years!

It will be renovating and re-opening as Lot 102 "Burgers. Bourbon. Beer." on the 15th.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The curse of the NE corner of Memorial Drive and 10th Street continues, The Bottlehouse tweeted this morning:

It will be renovating and re-opening as Lot 102 "Burgers. Bourbon. Beer." on the 15th.

Same owners? Just a rebranding? Any connection to this Lot 102 in Midland, Ontario?

http://www.lot102.ca/contact

BottleHouseYYC @BottleHouseYYC This will be the last week of operations for the BottleHouse. Stay tuned for a new and exciting concept. @kensingtonYYC

Can anyone list all of the establishments that appeared in that location?

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The curse of the NE corner of Memorial Drive and 10th Street continues, The Bottlehouse tweeted this morning:



It will be renovating and re-opening as Lot 102 "Burgers. Bourbon. Beer." on the 15th.

I feel like the whole (gourmet) burger fad is waning. Seems like everywhere has played this hand and it is at the edge of popularity culinary wise. Same with the beer house thing. Just personal opinion though.

I hope they can make it work, I just hope this isn't a lateral move to a me too type Pub. The Lot 102, Burger, Beer words make me think otherwise. Hopefully it is as new and fresh as they claim. We need more good restaurants in Kensington!

[troutman]

The Barn looks like it will be a good place to watch the game:

https://www.facebook.com/thebarnpublichouse

I was there for the Grand Opening Friday night. They have lots of screens, and two giant projections screens on the white wall facing the arena. The menu is typical, but much better than what they had before.

In the back they opened a big room where they had a band play. I don't know if that is something they they plan to do regularly. Tuesday is Wing Night.

It is not visible from the street - I don't know how it will attract people who aren't familiar with the arena.

Food and Drink Menu:
https://www.facebook.com/download/15...ont%20Menu.pdf

Bonus points for being kid friendly.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I feel like the whole (gourmet) burger fad is waning. Seems like everywhere has played this hand and it is at the edge of popularity culinary wise. Same with the beer house thing. Just personal opinion though.

I hope they can make it work, I just hope this isn't a lateral move to a me too type Pub. The Lot 102, Burger, Beer words make me think otherwise. Hopefully it is as new and fresh as they claim. We need more good restaurants in Kensington!

Especially without Lava.

God dammit. I know I'm harping on it but that still annoys me. HOW.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The curse of the NE corner of Memorial Drive and 10th Street continues, The Bottlehouse tweeted this morning:



It will be renovating and re-opening as Lot 102 "Burgers. Bourbon. Beer." on the 15th.

I find it odd that the location appears to be so unsuccessful in finding a long term business. Bottlehouse is the longest surviving business I can remember. In the meantime, the lacklustre Julio's Barrio has managed to survive across the street.

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I feel like the whole (gourmet) burger fad is waning. Seems like everywhere has played this hand and it is at the edge of popularity culinary wise. Same with the beer house thing. Just personal opinion though.

I hope they can make it work, I just hope this isn't a lateral move to a me too type Pub. The Lot 102, Burger, Beer words make me think otherwise. Hopefully it is as new and fresh as they claim. We need more good restaurants in Kensington!

I agree with sentiments on burger joints in Calgary. I love burgers but I think the $15 gourmet burger market is overly saturated.

Edit: I just looked at the menu from Julio's because I haven't been there in well over half a dozen years and I'm shocked that they are charging $20 for a burrito or fajita with meat.

[mikephoen]

Just found this thread! Cool idea.

We've been living in the Kensington area for a year and a half now and we love it! Moved down from Mt. Pleasant, which is a nice community, but there are basically no restaurants or services at all. Kensington is so much better!

I'm not surprised Lava didn't make it. We went there twice. The first time, the food was great but the service was pretty bad. They were really new though, so we assumed they were still training people and it would get better.

We went back a month or so later with some friends to show them this great new restaurant we had 'discovered'... and it was pretty bad. Overcooked, under-flavored and the service still wasn't any better. And the whole idea of upscale food with casual, almost cafeteria style seating, was weird too.

I need to try Vero again... our first try was for brunch and they were obviously severely understaffed. It took forever to get served and the kitchen took forever to get our food out... and they had run out of something and made a substitute without letting us know until the food arrived. That was pretty weird. Food was fairly good, but the service sucked.

Modern Steak got a second try for us last week. The first time we went my steak was overcooked! If you're a steak place, that's a pretty terrible sin. On the plus side, my wife's seafood meal made her very happy. Good news for them, because we tried them again, and this time my steak was perfect. It's sure a weird building for a restaurant though... must be crazy to be a server with the main dining room 3.5 floors below the kitchen...

Lots of other great dining options have been mentioned already. Red Ember is great, Peppino's is awesome, and both Wine Bar and Brasserie very good and worth checking out.

Great thread!

[Sakic19]

I was at the Bottlehouse yesterday. Apparently the current owner bought it a year ago and is keeping the place, just rebranding it. Bottlehouse is the longest tenant in that spot I've seen over the years and the food was pretty good. Our server said that lots of the menu will stay the same.

As for Julio's, I can't believe that place stays in business. I think the only thing keeping it alive are the bulldogs.

[mikephoen]

Just finished enjoying my sandwich from Shawarma Station, which is another recommended place in Kensington!

That Bottlehouse location is as cursed as the Flames at the Honda Center. Someone should try making into a higher end restaurant of some sort, because it's failed as a pub about 25 times in the last 20 years.

I keep hoping for Julio's to go out of business. That's a great location and a nice space, it would be nice if it was a good restaurant. I tried it twice spaced out over about 5 years and it was terrible both times. The only reason we went the second time is we figured that if it had survived that long it must have gotten better... nope!

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

I keep hoping for Julio's to go out of business. That's a great location and a nice space, it would be nice if it was a good restaurant. I tried it twice spaced out over about 5 years and it was terrible both times. The only reason we went the second time is we figured that if it had survived that long it must have gotten better... nope!

We have plenty of good restaurants in Calgary already. Julio's needs to become a kick ass discotheque.

[troutman]

The Barn has generously offered to reserve up to 20 spots for Friday night, game 4.

1940 6th ave NW
Calgary, Alberta

Located in NW Calgary at the West Hillhurst Community Association, The Barn celebrated its grand opening last Friday night. There are plenty of screens, including two giant screens projected on the wall. Managed by some CP friends. New food and drink menu here:

https://www.facebook.com/thebarnpublichouse?fref=ts

PM if you would like to attend.

[troutman]

Architect quits controversial Kensington development

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...council-monday

Earlier in the year, Mike Terrigno — of Osteria owner Terrigno Investments Inc. — faced an investigation by City Hall security staff and faced Calgary Police complaints about threats, after encounters with a city planner and critics from the Hillhurst community, outside a Calgary Planning Commission hearing.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by troutman

Architect quits controversial Kensington development

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...council-monday

Earlier in the year, Mike Terrigno — of Osteria owner Terrigno Investments Inc. — faced an investigation by City Hall security staff and faced Calgary Police complaints about threats, after encounters with a city planner and critics from the Hillhurst community, outside a Calgary Planning Commission hearing.

....and dead.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...ter-rocky-past

I would make a nasty comment but I may get a visit from Don Corleone Jr. in the morning

[Bigtime]

The real shame in all of that is losing a Sturgess designed building, for such a prominent corner he was proposing something pretty bold and out there. I'm certain he could have made his design work at the 8 storey level too. It could have added another eclectic element to Kensington and shown that more could be built there than just 6-8 storey midrise rectangles.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Good. Do 8 stories then and don't mess with my pano view.

[troutman]

Freshii is going into St. Johns:

https://www.freshii.com/ca

Eat. Energize. That's the Freshii motto. The aim is to provide fresh and nutritious meal choices that energize people on the go. Emphasizing the foods you should eat more of and less on those you should avoid, Freshii provides meals and snacks that help you live your best life. Think: fiber-rich, slow-burning carbs, essential fats and lean proteins. The menu includes custom-made green wraps, salads, quinoa bowls, and fresh pressed juices.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The real shame in all of that is losing a Sturgess designed building, for such a prominent corner he was proposing something pretty bold and out there. I'm certain he could have made his design work at the 8 storey level too. It could have added another eclectic element to Kensington and shown that more could be built there than just 6-8 storey midrise rectangles.

I agree, it was a great design for terrible clients (going by that family's long history). Now I am afraid they will just slap up something boring, but hopefully some compromise can be reached.

Design aside I am a bit concerned about the location and adding all those people to that corner. It is a traffic nightmare as it is. With the two new apartment buildings going in, plus that office tower, that area could become a even worse traffic nightmare (a traffic armageddon if you will, hah). Not that I totally care as I walk, but getting out of Sunnyside going West could become a real mess in a few years.